Gun Ru (Megiddo)
The Gun Ru (Mandarin for "Metal Skeleton") is a knightmare frame produced and utilized by the Chinese Federation, namely the Chinese Liberation Army (CLA), as their mainstray forces in Code Geass Megiddo. 'Appearance' Its original incarnation, no design changes made. They are, however, marked with the Red Star emblem of the Chinese Liberation Army, similar to real life Chinese military machines. 'Description' As the mainline knightmare of the Chinese Federation's Liberation Army, the Gun Ru was a true reflection of its home country at the time of its development. Built primarily for numbers, the Gun Ru lacks most of the refinements that one would associate with the knightmare frame in general, being larger than average (a consequence of Chinese technology level), comprised of cheap and mundane mechanics (which are infamously prone to breakdowns) and having relatively little regard for the survivability of the pilot. Its dome shaped design gives it a larger targeting profile than most knightmares, yet its armor is poorly resistant to modern weaponry. Its Yggdrasil drive is very underpowered, and its landspinners are only capable of propelling the knightmare forward or backward at lesser speeds. Though it is fairly armed, mounting a pair of machine guns and cannons, its weapons are completely fixed forward and in a narrow firing arc, meaning the Gun Ru must turn its entire torso in order to engage targets at its sides or behind. And finally, it lacks the ejectable cockpit that most knightmare frames take for granted, while the only access point is placed toward the front, leaving the pilot vulnerable to enemy fire upon abandoning the frame. Due to these numerous "qualities", the Gun Ru is well regarded as a death trap among devicers everywhere. The Chinese refer to them as guancai (Mandarin for "coffins"), while the Britannians and Europeans mockingly refer to them as "tadpoles" for their vaguely frog-like appearance in combination with their tail stabilizers. Even so, in spite of common belief, the Gun Ru can be utilized as an effective weapon when deployed in large enough numbers, and the Chinese are well aware of this fact. For all of its flaws, the Gun Ru is easy to produce and maintain, while its control system is simple and easier to learn compared to most other knightmare types (a necessity for the heavily conscripted CLA), thereby ensuring the KMF's abundance, with the Chinese fielding twelve Gun Rus for every one Britannian Sutherland or European Panther II. Due to these factors, as well as the dire state of Chinese technology level, the Gun Ru has remained in production longer than any other knightmare frame (much to the dismay of their pilots) and so remains the main strength of the Chinese Liberation Army. 'Armaments' ;*'Machine Gun' : The Gun Ru's main weapon. Meant for lighter targets such as other knightmare frames or aircraft, the PL-20 holds fairly effective range and penetrating power. Unlike most weapons of this type however, the Gun Ru mounts them in a pair of arm extension on either side of its "torso", with the extensions being able to pivot upward or fold back into the frame itself. As a side effect of being built-in armaments, the machine guns are fed by internal ammunition stores rather than clips, which combined with the Gun Ru's larger than average size, grants it a larger amount of ammo per gun compared to other knightmares. ;*'Cannon' : The Gun Ru's secondary weapon. These are effectively scaled-down tank cannons, meant for more heavily armored targets. Unlike their Britannian or European equivalents, these cannons only fire HE shells, which hold decent enough power to obliterate most forms of opposition, as well as range to match. They are mounted on the knightmare's hips, and unlike the machine guns, they lack the ability to pivot, meaning the Gun Ru can only fire them at ground level. System Features ;*'Dual-Eye Sensor Camera' : The'' Gun Ru'' utilizes a dual camera system, located in the "head" of the knightmare. Unlike most sensor cameras of this type but well in line with the rest of the KMF, these sensor cameras are not very advanced and can only provide the pilot the basic amount of visual imagery and data. Even so, they're enough for most Chinese pilots to abide by. ;*'Multispectral Sensor System' : The Gun Ru carries a standard sensor package, which provides pilots a detailed readout on their surroundings, theoretically enough for them to survive the battlefield. Unfortunately due to the Gun Ru's underpowered Yggdrasil drive, the sensors are in turn also underpowered and can only read a fair amount of distance around the frame. ;*'Landspinner Propulsion System' : The Gun Ru carries landspinners as with most knightmares. Unlike most knightmares however, the Gun Ru's landspinners are built entirely into their stubby legs, and so lack the gyroscopic capabilities that most other designs abide by. As such the Gun Ru can only move forward or backward on the ground, while the tail stabilizer provides the means for it to turn left or right. 'History' Built in the same generation as the Glasgow ''and the ''Ritter, the Gun Ru would quickly become the Chinese Federation's weapon of choice. Though an incredibly flawed design, its ease of production would ensure its continued usage within the Chinese Liberation Army (much to the ire of Chinese commanders and pilots) even when later generation knightmares had been produced by Britannia and the EU. One of the more infamous deployments of the Gun Ru was during Operation Hai Long Wang (Mandarin for "Sea Dragon"), the Chinese Federation's attempted false flag invasion of Kyushu, the southernmost island of Japan. The Gun Ru was utilized effectively in this operation, overwhelming the island's initial defenders and even managing to corner Suzaku Kururugi and his ''Lancelot'' with their sheer numbers. However, the surprise intervention of Black Knight leader Zero in the Gawain quickly turned the situation around, and the Gun Rus were wiped out to a frame not long after. After the Chinese Federation was annexed into Britannia, the CLA would go underground to wage a rebellion against the Imperials and their Chinese collaborators, and so would continue utilizing the Gun Ru as their main weapon. By this time however, the Gun Ru would be well past its era, with the Britannians holding a large technological advantage over the CLA. Even so, having no other options beyond the Four Beasts, the advanced seventh generation knightmare frames utilized by General Li Xingke and his followers, the Tianshou, the Chinese would continue to make use of the Gun Ru throughout this seven-year war. Category:Knightmare Frames